Elements and Performance Criteria

Venues may be:
permanent
temporary

Venue services may include:
front-of-house
ushering
visitor information
box office
guiding

Checking all aspects of the set-up of the venue, facilities and equipment may include:
the cloakroom
bathroom facilities
box office operations
food and beverage outlets
promotional displays
merchandising stores/stands
program stands
checking that auditorium is correctly configured
checking that all emergency evacuation areas are clear and that safety equipment is operational
checking that venue is clean and tidy
cleaning and tidying venue or instructing other staff to clean and tidy venue

Staff briefing may include:
details of event
fire drills
house policies
information on VIP attendance
information about products and services available
organisational policies and procedures
special seating arrangements
notification of forthcoming events
prior knowledge of special needs of particular patrons

Assisting with the workflow of service personnel may involve:
working food and beverage outlets
selling programs and other merchandise
ushering patrons

Documentation relating to the front-of-house operation may include:
staff timesheets
ticket sales reports
merchandise sales reports
incident reports

Underpinning skills and knowledge

Assessment must include evidence of the following knowledge and skills:

operational aspects of service facilities which operate at the venue, eg box office, food and beverage outlets, cloakroom, merchandising store/stand
in-depth knowledge of policies and procedures applicable to delivering services to venue customers, including refunds and exchanges
opening and closing procedures for the venue
emergency evacuation procedures
operation of the public address system
communication and conflict resolution techniques
staff responsibilities and reporting mechanisms
incident report documentation

Linkages to other units

This unit has strong linkages to the following units, and combined training and/or assessment may be appropriate:

CUECOR04A Deal with conflict and resolve complaints
BSXFLM507A Manage quality customer service

Critical aspects of evidence

The following evidence is critical to the judgement of competence in this unit:

ability to manage the on-site operation of venue services, including all aspects of preparing the venue, briefing and monitoring staff, and closing down the venue
knowledge of the range of problems which may arise and ability to resolve them

Method and context of assessment

The assessment context must provide for:

practical demonstration of skills within a fully equipped operational venue, eg a cinema, live theatre, conference centre, on more than one occasion
involvement of a team of operational venue personnel involved in delivering venue services
presence of commercially realistic time pressures involved in the operation of the front-of-house at the time of a performance/session/event
commercially realistic ratios of customers to operational personnel to reflect typical workplace pressures

Assessment may incorporate a range of methods to assess practical skills and the application of essential underpinning knowledge, and might include:

direct observation of the candidate managing venue services
evaluation of reports prepared by the candidate on the venue service management process, including the issues and solutions associated with delivering efficient outcomes
review of documentation prepared by the candidate such as running sheets, incident reports, briefing notes
role plays to assess ability to negotiate solutions to problems
written or oral questions, tests and interview to assess knowledge of the venue and procedures
review of portfolios of evidence and third party workplace reports of on-the-job performance by the candidate.
Assessment methods should closely reflect workplace demands and the needs of particular groups (eg people with disabilities, and people who may have literacy or numeracy difficulties such as speakers of languages other than English, remote communities and those with interrupted schooling).

Resource requirements

Assessment of this unit requires access to:

a venue where performances/cinema sessions/events take place
a range of operational outlets commonly operated within a venue, eg box office, merchandising store/stand
policy and procedures for front-of-house services, eg emergency evacuation, refunds, opening and closing

Communicating ideas and information
Assessing operational issues (2)

Collecting analysing and organising information
Providing briefings to staff (2)

Planning and organising activities
Organising team tasks (2)

Working with others and in teams
Monitoring team work patterns (2)

Using mathematical ideas and techniques
Monitoring times/schedules (1)

Solving problems
Resolving escalated complaints (2)

Using technology
Using house information system (1)